How to Find Your First Allied Healthcare Travel Job

If you’re an allied health professional with at least two years of professional experience behind you, read below for some tips on how to land your first allied healthcare travel assignment position.

First of all, newly minted allied health professionals should understand that travel staffing agencies look for people who have at least a year or two of experience. This is because client facilities need experienced professionals, professionals who can “hit the ground running” and care for patients as soon as they arrive.

They need travelers to fill holes in their staffing rosters due to more patients needing care than anticipated, vacations, layoffs, etc.

In other words, they have critical needs when it comes to patient care and they don’t have the time to train new graduates. They need allied healthcare professionals who will require little supervision and no training (other than minimal training in a facility’s particular processes). That is why it’s important that you have at least a year’s experience in your chosen field.

If you have that experience, start researching different healthcare staffing firms. Check to see if they place allied health professionals in travel assignments before you contact them. Some firms focus on just one or two health profession sectors (such as nursing and/or pharmacy), so take a good look at the firm’s website before you call.

Don’t neglect your intuition. If you contact a firm and you feel that its recruiters are trying to rush you into registering, or that they are rude or otherwise tend to not listen to your needs and goals, walk away. There are many other healthcare travel service firms out there.

In fact, firms exist all over the country. You may, in fact, never meet your recruiter in person, so don’t worry that you’ll need to work only with a firm that’s close to where you live (unless you want to).

What’s more, it’s perfectly fine to register with more than one travel service. Just remember: once you accept an assignment from one service, it’s considered highly unprofessional to drop it suddenly just because a “better offer” came along from another service.

Don’t be shy about asking questions regarding the firm’s benefits, how it will pay you, its policy for reimbursement for travel expenses, and/or its per diem rates. A good deal of this information should be on the firm’s website, but if you’re unclear, be sure to ask before taking on an assignment.

Let the firm know if you’re willing to take on assignments across the country, or if you just want to take on work in medical facilities near your home. Either is fine and most firms will be happy to accommodate your needs.

If you’re a lab tech, phlebotomist, pharmacy technician, or other allied health professional interested in learning more about positions as a healthcare traveler, contact a recruiter at MedPro Staffing. We look forward to hearing from you.